Our Differences
by star-chan007
Summary: We're different...but since when did that matter? SasuNaru Highschool fic
1. Note to my readers

Hey! I just wanted to apologize for not updating…though I'm beginning to think that no one reads this anyways…but whatever. I want to let everyone know that I'm taking this story down to rework it. I'll put chapters back up as their complete but I'm not sure how long this will take. I've decided to do this for a few reasons.

I'm not pleased with the pace of the story, it's inconsistent.

I think I need to work with details. I plan to take some out and put other, more necessary ones in.

I don't feel that overall it's one of my best efforts. I know it's just a fanfiction but I'd like to be able to take proper pride in knowing that I've written it and it's decent.

Now, to anyone who cares, if there are any parts that you have suggestions on, let me know and I'll take it into consideration. Thanks for your understanding.


	2. Chapter 1

Okay, I think Naruto and Sasuke make the cutest couple in the world! So here is my REWORKED attempt. Um…the kids speak Japanese, but I'm to lazy to add on the suffixes…so I'm not gonna!! Also, um…there are going to be some religious issues…um, not that big but if it offends you then don't read it

"Hey! Did you hear?"

"Hear what?"

"There's a new kid transferring from India!"

"Really? When?"

"Tomorrow is their first day I think!" rumors and conversations similar to this were infecting the hallways of Konoha High.

There had been nothing interesting happening at their school since the transfer students from one of the Ryukyu Islands and the one from America. Okay…so quite a few interesting things happened at their school, but other than that it was just like any other high school. It had the popular kids, the computer geeks, the chess team, well actually, Go team in their case, sports teams, book worms and social outcasts. They were all excited over the possibility of fresh meat. Yes, a quite vicious term, but…it's high school…and as I'm sure you all know, high school can be a very vicious place. "So, I wonder what he'll be like! I hope he's cute!" a girl squealed.

"Who said it'll be a guy?" her friend argued. They laughed and walked away.

THE NEXT DAY

The final bell rang and students scrambled to get to their seats before their teacher walked in. They were all excited. The new kid was starting today and everyone was anxious to see if he would be in their class.

"Alright, settle down everyone! Settle down!" their teacher called. He wore a mask covering the lower half of his face and a headband covering one of his eyes.

"C'mon Kakashi-sensei! Take off that stupid mask! You can't be that good looking!" One of the girls called.

"If you say so Sakura…" he said.

She laughed.

"Now, I'm sure you're all just dying to meet our new student." He said and paused so the girls could relieve themselves of their excited squeals.

"Would you come on in please?" he asked.

The door opened and revealed a boy who was unusually short and skinny for their age. He had a mop of untidy blonde hair and bright cerulean eyes. His skin was lightly tanned, but stood out in contrast to the other student's pale Asian skin. He had three whisker like scars on each cheek. He seemed like he just wanted to shrink away and disappear from their prying eyes.

"Well? Are you going to introduce yourself?" Kakashi asked. The boy nodded unsurely.

"My name's Naruto Uzumaki…I came here from India, and I'm glad to be here…" he muttered.

"Okay, Naruto would you mind answering any questions?" Kakashi asked, trying to make him feel more comfortable. Naruto shook his head.

"No…I don't mind." He said.

"Alright, any questions?" Kakashi said. Someone raised their hand.

"Yes Kiba?"

"How come you can speak Japanese so well?" the boy, Kiba, asked. Naruto looked up.

"Well, my mom is Japanese…and my dad is from India, so my mom taught me when I was growing up." He explained. Another boy raised his hand.

"Go ahead Shikamaru."

"Why's your hair blonde if you're mom's Japanese and your dad's Indian?" he asked.

"Well, my dad is pure Indian, but my mom's mom was a blonde American, so I got it from her…" he said. A girl raised her hand this time.

"Go ahead Tenten." Kakashi sighed.

"Did you know you have gorgeous eyes?" she asked. Naruto looked taken aback.

"Okay! That's enough, no hitting on the new kid." Kakashi reprimanded. Tenten giggled.

"Are there anymore _serious _questions?" Kakashi asked. No one raised their hand.

"Well, thank you Naruto, now go find a seat and we'll get started." Kakashi said, Naruto walked up the steps and stopped at a desk occupied by books alone. Kakashi turned to the board and began writing some notes.

"Can I sit here?"

Naruto asked the pale-skinned raven haired boy sitting in the desk next to it. The boy turned and glared at him with cold obsidian eyes.

"My books are sitting there…dobe." He said coolly. The girls around him giggled. Something flashed in Naruto's eyes but it was quickly replaced by the uncertain look previously residing there.

"Oh…s-sorry." He muttered. The boy turned back to the board and saw Kakashi looking at him reprovingly.

"Go ahead…" the boy muttered and removed his books. Naruto gave a small smile and sat down. The boy ignored him.

"What's your name?" Naruto asked quietly.

"…..Sasuke…" he said, not looking at him. Someone tapped him on the shoulder and he turned around.

"Hey, I'm Kiba." It was the boy who had asked the first question. Naruto opened his mouth to say something.

"No need to introduce yourself. But a piece of advice before you get mauled, don't talk to Sasuke for a while… at all…ever actually. I got myself a busted lip and sprained wrist the first week of school for that. He's got these girls that follow him around and constantly try to get him to go out with them. But you don't want to piss them off…they can get pretty vicious." He said. Naruto looked stunned.

"T-thanks…" he said.

"No problem! Hey, you wanna hang out later?" he asked. Naruto smiled.

"Sure, thanks…" he said.

"Naruto, Kiba, is there something you'd like to share with us?" Kakashi asked.

"N-no Kakashi-sensei…sorry." Naruto stammered, embarrassed at being called out in front of the class. A small wave of giggles swept over the room leaving Naruto with an even greater desire to shrink into his seat.

"Oi! Leave'm alone, it's his first day here for cryin out loud!" he snapped. Naruto smiled to himself. It was nice to have a friend.

AFTER SCHOOL

Naruto stood by his locker, watching the kids go by. He was waiting for Kiba to come and meet him there. They had talked and were going to go over to the Ichiraku Ramen bar, even though Kiba didn't like Ramen very much. A pale girl with strange lavender eyes and a rosy blush adorning her cheeks walked up to him and smiled in a friendly manner.

"Um…I-I just wanted t-to welcome you here N-Naruto…M-my name is Hinata H-Hyuuga, I'm a f-friend of Kiba." She stuttered. She was obviously very shy.

"Thanks…that's really nice." He said, grateful that he was at least a bit more confident than she. Kiba came up behind her and poked her in the side. She let out an ear piercing yelp and then smiled, her cheeks turning a darker shade of red.

"Hey Hinata! I see you've met Naruto. I knew you guys would hit it off cause you're both way to shy for your own good!" he said. Hinata's smile faltered momentarily

"I'm only joking Hinata…besides, it's one of the reasons you're so cute." Kiba said earnestly.

If it was possible, Hinata turned even redder. There were obviously some unsaid feelings between the two and they spent quite a few moments staring at each other before Naruto, as politely as possible cleared his throat. Kiba blushed a bit and grinned

"C'mon you guys, let's go." He said and grabbed Hinata around the shoulders pulling her away. Naruto moved to follow, but Kakashi stuck his head out the door.

"Naruto! Can I have a word with you please?"

"Coming sensei…Hey Kiba, can you wait up a second?" he called. Kiba however, didn't seem to notice and Naruto wasn't going to disturb him spending time with Hinata. It was a bit disappointing to miss his first chance to hang out with some friends but he could find another time. "Yes?" he asked as he approached the desk where Kakashi sat.

"Well, I was wondering if you wanted an escort for the first week or so, this IS a very big school." Kakashi said.

"No thank you sensei…I'm pretty sure I can manage on my own. If I need help though I'll ask." Naruto said, gave a slight bow and left.

He sighed and trudged home to the small apartment he rented. He and his mother had moved here a little over a year ago after fleeing his home country of India (His father had been killed over money). She had tried to home school him at first but soon realized that it wasn't going to work. She managed to find Naruto a place in the local high school…but she was hospitalized with a recurring disease and died a few months later. Naruto had spent quite a long time grieving and had received permission from his new guardian, a woman by the name of Tsunade, to start school later in the semester. After a few weeks it became apparent that Naruto fell into the 'social outcast' classification. He had made several new friends, aside from Kiba. There was Gaara, who, though he seemed to prefer being alone, was rarely found without someone following him. He, like Naruto had had an unpleasant past that resulted in insomnia. Gaara had revealed his disorder to Naruto after the blonde had asked why Gaara always wore eyeliner.

Then there was Shikamaru who was incredibly intelligent but was failing all of his classes. Whenever asked about this, he simply stated that it wasn't worth the effort to pick up the pencil and do the work. He learned what was taught and couldn't see a need to prove that to anyone else. He was going out with a girl named Temari, who happened to be Gaara's older sister.

Lastly there was Lee who was more of an acquaintance than anything else. He was the strangest person Naruto had ever met. He always spoke of youth and other such things and had a strange obsession with another of Naruto's teachers, Gai-sensei.

Of course not everyone Naruto met was eager to become friends with him. In fact, Sasuke Uchiha seemed to be making an obvious effort to impress upon Naruto just how much he loathed him. Although he never said anything cruel to Naruto, he had an obnoxious habit of smirking and looking directly at the blonde when someone did. Aside from this there was always a malicious glint in his obsidian eyes when they looked at Naruto.

In fact, Sasuke's whole demeanor was an insult to the blonde. He was president of the student council, his grades never wavered from A's and of course, he was the height of popularity. Indeed, it was difficult to find girls who did not obsess over Sasuke or at least talk about him more than three times a day. Naruto on the other hand wasn't in any school clubs…or outside clubs for that matter, he struggled to keep B's and the only time girls spoke of him was to sneer at him. Sasuke's looks didn't help Naruto either.

Sasuke's skin was pale and without any flaws, his hair was a beautiful raven color and was always styled neatly (though Naruto thought it looked hilariously similar to a cockatoo's) and his clothes were spotless and smooth at all times. Naruto had tanned skin and scars on his cheeks, his hair wouldn't lie flat if you put a whole bottle of gel in it and his clothes were secondhand.

To add to all of this, at the beginning of the year, Kakashi-sensei had announced that these would be their permanent seats. The small amount of space between to two boys made their relationship, if it was possible, even more adversarial.

"That's my desk." Naruto said impatiently as he walked into the class room one morning to find Sasuke's school books sitting neatly on top of his desk.

"Well, I figured we could seat something more intelligent there…like my books." Sasuke said coolly.

"Asshole." Naruto muttered and pushed them onto the floor, taking his seat, a satisfied smirk on his face.

Something hit the back of his head and he turned to see every girl in the class glaring daggers at him. One stood up and walked over to him.

"How dare you!" she said and slapped him across the face.

"No one does that to Sasuke! You'd better learn your place around here." She snapped and sat down. Naruto's already chapped lips were bleeding and he stood up. He wasn't going to deal with this. He stood up and grabbed his stuff, running out of the room. He could hear them laughing behind him and heard someone say,

"Hey everybody! Look at the scaredy-cat run!"

Anger swelled up inside his chest and he tried to ignore it as he ran but it was proving difficult not the hit something. He ran out of the building and over to the tree in front of the school. He climbed up it and sat with his legs hanging down on either side. He sat there and began to absentmindedly tear off leaves. Before he knew it, his anger and frustration had turned itself to tears that fell silently down his cheeks. What had he done wrong? Was he being punished for something he did? Thoughts such as these drifted in and out of his head until he heard kids talking and laughing as they walked out of the building for lunch. He saw something move out of the corner of his eye and turned to see Sasuke staring at him, his expression unreadable. Naruto jumped out of the tree and glared back.

"You got something to say Uchiha?" Naruto snapped with as much ferocity as he could manage. He silently prayed that Sasuke would not notice his wet eyes and cheeks.

"You were crying." Sasuke said, but his tone was questioning.

"Why do you care? Just leave me alone…" Naruto muttered and began walking away. Naruto returned to the building after lunch, thankful that Sasuke wasn't in anymore of his classes. Kiba, having been worried about his friend, had saved Naruto half of his sandwich from lunch and in return got a kick out of watching Naruto sneak a bite every time the teacher's back was turned. Naruto again found himself grateful to Kiba after he had not pressed to subject of the blonde's disappearance and had evidently told everyone else to do the same.

After school Naruto began walking home when he realized that he was being followed. Suddenly someone grabbed his bag and yanked him back. With a spasm of fear he realized he was surrounded. He recognized some as Sasuke fan girls and others he didn't.

"Where are you going punk? You still have to pay for what you did to Sasuke." One said.

Naruto wanted to melt into the cement. He knew what was coming, and he knew it wasn't going to be pretty. He flinched as someone moved to punch him. Thus it began…he was on the ground before he knew it and people were kicking him and screaming at him. He curled up into the fetal position, praying for it to end. He made a resolution to keep quiet and it came as a shock when he heard someone cry out and shamefully realized that it had been himself. He heard a car door slam rather loudly and everything stopped. A sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach told Naruto that things were about to get much worse. A pair of black shoes appeared very near his face and he anxiously awaited a kick. He was surprised however to hear a calm, cold voice.

"Alright, beat it. I'll take it from here." The voice simply could not belong to anyone other than Sasuke Uchiha.

"But Sasuke, we'd much rather do it for you." A girl said in a sickly sweet voice. Sasuke's voice, if possible, became even colder. "I said I'll take care of it."

"Oh…Okay…S-sorry." The girl almost seemed scared and Naruto smirked as he imagined the look on Sasuke's face. He heard the girls walking away and braced himself for whatever was coming next.

Top of Form

Bottom of Form


	3. Chapter 2

"Hm…seems like they got you pretty good this time…" Sasuke muttered, talking more to himself than he was to Naruto.

"Go away you bastard…this is all your fault." Naruto muttered. His body ached and he wanted to be alone.

"Can you stand?" Sasuke asked, ignoring the blonde's comment. Naruto disregarded him.

"Can you stand?" Sasuke repeated, a bit of an icy edge to his voice.

"Go away." Naruto repeated.

He saw Sasuke crouch down out of the corner of his eye and was suddenly thrown into an even bigger world of pain. At first he thought Sasuke was hitting him, but then he realized that he was being moved. Sasuke was surprised at how light he was when he picked him up.

"What the hell are you doing?" Naruto snapped.

"I asked you if you could stand, you chose to ignore me. This is your fault." Sasuke said. Naruto growled as he was placed in the passenger seat.

"What are you doing?" Naruto asked again. "Taking you to get fixed up." Sasuke replied. Naruto's eyes widened but he stayed silent.

"Why?" Naruto asked, becoming annoyed with the silence

"Cause it's pathetic if you come to school tomorrow like that and, if anyone's gonna kick your ass, it'll be me" Sasuke retorted, but Naruto was too tired to notice that there was something behind it.

"As if this week could get any worse…"

Naruto muttered. Sasuke took a moment as he stopped at a light to look at Naruto. His lip was bleeding again, his eye was swelled shut, his nose was bleeding, and there were bruises forming on his bare arms. It was all he could see but he was sure there was more.

"Why'd you move here in the first place?" Sasuke asked.

"Should've asked that when I started…I didn't know how big of a jerk you were then…" Naruto muttered.

"Well, I'm asking now." Sasuke replied.

"It's none of your damn business…" Naruto said.

"I can make this stop you know…" Sasuke said. Naruto didn't seem to care.

"You're lying…you don't care about me…" Naruto said simply.

"I don't care about you but I'm not lying, tell me and I'll get them to leave you alone." Sasuke said.

"Because where I came from I was an outcaste. My father didn't marry inside his caste or social group, so he was considered an outcaste, or untouchable, as were my mother and I when I was born…course, it doesn't matter where I live, the same thing happens." Naruto said dejectedly. The car pulled into a driveway and Naruto heard a door open and close as Sasuke got out.

"Can you get up now?" Sasuke asked.

"I never had a problem getting up in the first place." Naruto snapped and opened the car door. He stood up and couldn't help but stare. Sasuke's house was huge! Sure, he had always gotten the impression that Sasuke was rich, but there was never anything to confirm it.

"Are you coming or not dobe?" Sasuke asked from the front door. Hot anger swelled up inside Naruto, but he shoved it back down and followed Sasuke. The house was clean and though large had an unmistakable homey feel.

"Stay here…" Sasuke instructed as he climbed up the stairs.

Naruto sat down on the steps and jumped back up when someone walked through the front door. Their eyes met and Naruto gasped. The man was like a mirror image of Sasuke, only with longer hair and a few inches taller.

"Why are you here…?" the man wondered aloud, though Naruto didn't answer the question. Suddenly the man's eyes lit up and a small smile appeared on his face. "Ahh! I see…I was wondering how long before it would happen." He said. Naruto had no clue as to what he was talking about. He began moving closer to Naruto, who was growing steadily more nervous. He leaned forward and licked Naruto's lips. Naruto pressed himself up against the wall in shock.

"Interesting…although I must wonder how you got so beat up…" the man said and leaned forward again, but was stopped by a voice.

"Leave him alone Itachi." Sasuke snapped as he walked down the steps, carrying something in his arms. Naruto had never been so happy to see Sasuke, in fact, he had never been happy to see Sasuke before in his life.

"I'm so happy for you little brother." The man said. Sasuke glared.

"It's not what you think but whatever." He muttered. The man shrugged and walked away. Naruto leaned his head against the wall and let out a breath he didn't even realize he had been holding.

"You should probably stay with me when you're here." Sasuke said.

"Who was that?" Naruto asked as Sasuke lead him into the kitchen.

"My brother…" Sasuke muttered absentmindedly as he looked through several different cabinets for something.

"I didn't know you had a brother." Naruto said as he sat down carefully on a chair.

"Not many people do." Sasuke said as he pulled out some band-aids.

"Take off your shirt." Sasuke said as he pulled up a chair and sat next to Naruto, who was looking at him like he was crazy.

"Look, if you want my help then take off the shirt." Sasuke said commandingly.

For a moment, Naruto though he had seen a blush but as soon as he blinked it was gone. He shrugged and carefully took it off, trying not to cause himself anymore pain. Sasuke frowned as he surveyed the damage to the other boy's back and arms. His chest was hardly injured from curling up. There were mostly bruises and a scratch here and there, but something caught his eye. It was on his left shoulder, a bleeding puncture wound, like some girl with high heels had kicked him and the heel had dug in. Stupid girls…the way they take off their uniform shoes thirty seconds after the bell rang, you'd think they'd die if they didn't. He opened the peroxide he had brought down and put some on the blonde's shoulder, not warning Naruto about the sting it would cause. He jumped up and glared at Sasuke.

"What the hell did you just put on there?" he snapped. Sasuke pointed to the bottle and shrugged. Naruto slowly sat back down, though he still seemed suspicious. He finished cleaning and bandaging it then stood up. He didn't see what else he could do, it was mostly bruises. Naruto put his shirt back on and turned to Sasuke.

"Why'd you bring me here anyway?" Naruto asked.

"I already told you." Sasuke replied as he put the stuff away.

"Yeah, well don't think this changes anything…I still hate your guts." Naruto spat. Sasuke smirked.

"Well that's just fine because I hate yours too." Sasuke said.

"Good!" Naruto snapped and stormed out of the room, leaving Sasuke with an expression of amusement on his face.

Naruto stopped at the hallway and hastily looked around for Sasuke's brother before dashing out the door. He debated going over to the local hospital…Tsunade worked there and she might be able to do something about his eye…He turned down the next street and walked the two blocks to the hospital. He passed through the sliding doors and strode over to the desk.

"Can I help you?" the girl behind it asked politely.

"Is Doctor Tsunade in?" he asked without looking at her.

The girl looked up and he realized it was one of the girls from school…one of the most Sasuke obsessed girls in school in fact. Her name was Sakura Haruno.

"Oh, hello Naruto, how are you feeling?" she asked in a nauseatingly sweet voice. He glared at her. He remembered seeing her perfectly done head of pink hair in the crowd that had beat him up.

"I'm doing fine, thank you for asking Sakura." Naruto said.

"That's good to hear, I'll ring the doctor, so you can go have a seat in that chair over there." She said. A few minutes later a woman with long blonde hair and a rather large…chest came walking out of the elevator. She looked like she was 30 maybe, but she was actually in her fifties, which scared Naruto sometimes.

"What happened? You look like you got hit by a bus." She commented dryly. Naruto looked over to Sakura and gave him a look that plainly said, 'Go ahead and tell her, you'll just get thrashed again.'

"I got in a fight…" Naruto mumbled.

Tsunade let out an exasperated sigh.

"Boys…" she muttered.

"C'mon, I'll get you fixed up." She said and grabbed his wrist, dragging him to an empty room down the hall.

"Take your shirt off." She ordered.

"You sound like Sasuke…" Naruto muttered as he once again removed his t-shirt.

"Who?" Tsunade asked as she pulled out a few things.

"Just some kid from school…" Naruto said.

"Who asked you to take off your shirt?" Tsunade asked suggestively. Naruto blushed.

"It's not like that! He took me to his house and was just trying to fix me up…Anyways, I really hate him. He's always got this attitude like he can order everyone around, especially me…" Naruto said.

Tsunade didn't seem convinced but shrugged and let it go. She checked him over and put some cream on the scratches and certain ugly bruises on his arms and looked at his eye.

"Well, there's nothing I can do about that really. Keep it iced and hopefully the swelling will go down. If you're lucky, it'll just be a black eye by tomorrow." She said and sent him on his way.

Naruto walked into school the next day, wearing a sweater over his uniform shirt. Normally he didn't like wearing long clothes, but today he didn't have a choice, since he didn't want to draw attention to himself. Hinata and Kiba had come over that morning and were in shock. Hinata had insisted that he tell someone, but Naruto refused and practically had to beg Kiba not to tell. He was also lucky that Hinata was able to put some makeup (embarrassing as it was) on his eye so it was barely visible. He took his seat next to Sasuke and tried his best to ignore him.

"Feeling better?" Sasuke asked in a slightly arrogant manner. Naruto turned to snap something but stopped and pulled out a book, pretending he hadn't moved to do so in the first place. He swore he heard someone behind him cracking their knuckles.

"Relax, you kept your end of the bargain, so I told them to lay off." Sasuke said coolly. Naruto nodded unsurely. Why should he believe Sasuke anyway? Why would he all of a sudden care if Naruto got beat up?

"I'm fine…" Naruto muttered and turned back to the front as Kakashi walked in.

"Good morning class!" he said cheerily.

"What's so good about it?"

Naruto heard Kiba ask and he inwardly sighed. Apparently Kiba was still pissed.

"Well, the sun is shining, the birds are chirping and…"

Kakashi paused to look around the room. His single visible eye curved, showing that he was smiling.

"Oh look! Shikamaru is awake!" he said. Several people giggled but Shikamaru

didn't seem too pleased.

"Your eye looks good, what'd you do?" Sasuke asked, not able to keep the amused curiosity out of his voice. Naruto was starting to get annoyed and was starting to wish Sasuke would return to ignoring him as usual.

"Nothing…" Naruto muttered. Sasuke shrugged. School was boring as usual and Naruto couldn't wait for it to be over, mostly because of the weird looks the girls were giving him. As he walked to his locker, he was pushed against it in an arm lock, with his arms behind him, his shoulder blades being pressed closer and closer together.

"What did you do to Sasuke?" Someone asked venomously. He recognized Sakura's voice instantly.

"I didn't do anything!" Naruto gasped. The pain was making him see spots.

"Liar! Sasuke wouldn't tell us to leave you alone unless you did something! Tell me!" she snapped.

"I didn't do anything! I swear!" Naruto cried.

"I don't believe you but…all the same…I'll be watching you…" she said and she and whoever had been holding him released his arms and the two walked away. Naruto sighed and rotated his shoulders. Why him? He grabbed his things and started home. He had barely walked a block when a black convertible pulled up on the street next to him. He hadn't realized that Sasuke's car was black…of course it really made no difference.

"What do you want?" Naruto asked, hardly glancing at him.

Sasuke shrugged and asked, "Are you doing anything over the holidays?" Naruto stared at him.

"Are you _trying_ to make my life more difficult?" he snapped.

"How the hell do you figure I'm doing that?" Sasuke retorted.

"I've got your little fan girls all over me more than ever, ranting on and on about how I brain washed you to tell them to leave me alone!" Naruto huffed. "I'll take care of it, but answer my question." Sasuke said impatiently.

"I just did!" Naruto retorted.

"The first one…"

Sasuke refrained from adding the 'dobe' because he knew if he did, it would just irritate the blonde and cause him to further ignore his question.

"Why do you care?" Naruto snapped.

"I'm just asking!"

"You're not supposed to ask me anything! You hate me, or have you not made that emphatically clear!?" Naruto shouted.

"Fine! I'll leave you alone after you answer the stupid question!"

"No!"

"Answer it!"

"Bite me!"

"Naruto! Just answer the damn question!"

"Fine!! No, I'm not doing anything and even if I did I wouldn't have anyone to do it with!" Naruto shouted, but nearly fell over when he heard Sasuke's next question.

"Do you want to come over during break?" Sasuke asked. Naruto stared.

"Why?" It was the only thing that his mouth would allow him to say. Sasuke shrugged and Naruto smiled.

"Okay, I get it! Where are the cameras, I know I'm being pranked or something." Naruto said. Sasuke didn't seem pleased.

"I'm not kidding, do you want to come or not?" he asked. Naruto was stunned.

"I don't understand though…why?" he asked.

"I feel sorry for you." Sasuke replied flatly but if Naruto had been looking into those dark eyes he would have seen something far more powerful. Naruto however, didn't get angry or anything, he just smiled that stupid grin of his and nodded. Sasuke smirked.

"Do you want a ride home?" Sasuke asked.

"Nope! I have somewhere I gotta be, but thanks!" Naruto said and turned in the opposite direction he had been walking and ran off.

--

Well, I hope it's not difficult to notice any differences. I've been working really hard and reviews are greatly appreciated.


	4. Chapter 3

I reuploaded this chapter because it was all bunched together and as someone very kindly (seriously, no sarcasm) pointed out, my story is lacking in paragraph...ism...So, I will try to work on that, but bear with me that was the single concept of language arts that did not sink into my brain, so I apologize. Anyway, read and review please, helpful criticism is always welcome. But no flames. Don't like it, don't read it.

Naruto just about ran the entire three blocks to the hospital but stood outside the doors thinking. The more the thought about it, the stranger it seemed. Sasuke hated him, why would he invite him over for break? Was it maybe to play some sick joke? Or, was he just trying to be nice? Naruto snorted at that last thought. Sasuke Uchiha? Nice? Hardly… He scowled and decided that Sasuke and some of his fan girls were playing a prank and decided he'd go tell Sasuke to forget it and go screw a box or something. He finally arrived back at the Uchiha's house and stormed up to the door, inwardly praying that Sasuke's brother wouldn't answer it. Of course, things never seemed to work out the way he wanted them to and the door opened to reveal Itachi.

"Uh…Is Sasuke home?" he asked weakly.

Itachi shook his head and Naruto turned to leave, deflated.

"But I'm sure he'll be home soon, would you like to come in and wait?" Itachi asked. His voice was deep and now that Naruto thought about it, oddly calming.

"I suppose...If you don't mind." Naruto said.

"It's really no trouble. I'm just glad my brother finally seems to have a friend. Anyways, you can go wait in his room." Itachi said.

Naruto decided not to correct Itachi about the face that he and Sasuke were _not_ friends. Instead he nodded and followed the directions given to him. Sasuke's room was nothing like he pictured it would be. It actually looked relatively…normal. The walls were a creamy off-white and a rather nice computer desk in the corner. Scattered across it were papers and their standard textbooks. The bed in the corner was the only odd thing about Sasuke's room. The sheets were black. The floor was wood paneling with a large, fluffy red rug covering most of it. Naruto turned his attention back to the desk and tilted his head in confusion. On it stood a framed picture of a family standing together, the father on the left, the mother on the right and two boys in the middle. One of them looked just like Sasuke, only younger and…happy? He seemed about 6 or 7. 'If Sasuke was happy when he was a little kid, what could have happened to make him so angry?' he wondered as he picked the picture up to examine it better. He was so involved with his thoughts that he didn't hear the door open as Sasuke entered the room.

"Don't touch that!" Sasuke snapped. Naruto jumped in surprise and the picture fell to the ground, the glass shattering and going everywhere.

"Now look what you did! Idiot…" Sasuke hissed as he picked up the rest of the framed and set it carefully, almost lovingly (insert inner Naruto snort here) on the desk.

"Is that your family?" Naruto asked as he helped Sasuke pick up the larger pieces of glass. Sasuke shook his head.

"They were my family… Why are you here anyway?" he asked, finally turning to look at Naruto

"You didn't have to go that far." Naruto said. Sasuke raised an eyebrow.

"Go how far with what?" he asked. Naruto glared at him. As if he didn't know!

"Telling your fan girls to lay off, inviting me over for the holiday, all of that crap! I've got it all figured out." Naruto snapped

"You do huh?" Sasuke retorted, leaning against a wall.

"Yeah, you were going to lure me in and then do something to make _me_ look incredibly stupid and _you_ look incredibly cool." Naruto explained fiercely. Sasuke just smirked and shook his head, then walked over and flopped down onto his bed.

"You really are an idiot." He said bluntly.

"Yeah? How do you figure?" Naruto snapped.

"I'm not doing anything to trick you…" he began, but Naruto had lost his patience.

"Then why do it at all?! You don't like me, I don't like you! Why can't you just leave it at that! STOP JERKING ME AROUND!!" he shouted. (Heh, I quoted that from something…ha…go FMA…)

"Naruto shut up and listen to me!" Sasuke snapped and grabbed the boy's arm as he turned to leave.

Naruto responded by turning back around and punching Sasuke in the face. He didn't know why he did it, maybe he was sick of getting teased and picked on and Sasuke just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. The punch caught Sasuke off guard and hit him squarely in the jaw. He growled to himself and pulled his fist back, aiming it at Naruto's stomach. It made contact and Naruto's eyes widened as he struggled to regain the wind that had just been knocked out of him. He sank to the floor on his knees and when Sasuke looked down he was shaking. At first he was worried. Had he hit the idiot to hard? He doubted that…he had been in karate since he was old enough to walk; he had more self control than that. He bent down and realized that the blonde boy was…crying?

"Why? Why can't everyone just leave me alone…" he sobbed. Sasuke didn't know what to do, because in case you haven't noticed, his people skills aren't that great. He sighed, slightly annoyed.

"Stop crying." Sasuke said.

"Don't tell me what to do." Naruto retorted shakily.

"I'm not telling you I'm asking you…relatively nicely." He said. Naruto glared at him and sniffed once more.

"You and I both know _you_ never _ask_." He said contemptuously. Sasuke frowned.

"Well, I am now… I don't generally like seeing people cry." He said stiffly, awkwardly.

"What about the other day?" Naruto asked suspiciously.

"If I remember correctly, you had left the room…and when you left you weren't crying. By the time I got outside you had stopped." Sasuke said smoothly.

"That's right but you tell your stupid fan girls to shut up." Naruto retorted acidly, a slightly triumphant look on his face.

"Not that you heard anyways." Sasuke pointed out. Naruto's face fell in defeat, but then he looked up.

"What about the other times?" he asked. Sasuke raised an eyebrow.

"Other times? Naruto you're not getting anywhere with this, just give up." He said. Naruto growled.

"The other times, like in the cafeteria on Thursday last week when Ino and her friends ganged up on me." He said. Sasuke almost looked surprised…almost.

"They ganged up on you? In the cafeteria?" he asked. Naruto snorted.

"As if you didn't know." He snapped

"Actually…I didn't, considering I wasn't in school last Thursday." He said nonchalantly.

"Okay…how about when Sakura was making fun of me, on Monday?" Sasuke paused to think.

"I left the room; I don't like to get involved." He said.

"You must be really stupid then, because you're pretty involved right now if you ask me." Naruto said.

"But I didn't ask you." Sasuke said, smirking lightly.

"It's a phrase idiot; I know you didn't ask me." Naruto said icily. Sasuke shrugged.

"Seriously though, why _didn't_ you involve yourself?" Naruto asked.

Sasuke froze momentarily. The question had caught him off guard. He had expected Naruto to be curious, but he hadn't expected him to ask.

"I told you already…" he said gruffly.

"No you didn't, why are you avoiding the question?" Naruto asked.

'Let's see, does 'I'm insanely attracted to you, but other than that don't know why' count for a good answer?' Sasuke thought bitterly.

"I did already tell you and I'm not avoiding the question." Sasuke said, trying to sound convincing.

"Then why don't I remember you telling me?" Naruto asked.

"Because you're and idiot?" Sasuke provided.

"No, because you _didn't_ tell me." Naruto ground out.

"No, you're just an idiot." Sasuke retorted.

"Then why don't you refresh my memory?" Naruto said, triumphantly.

"Because you should have been paying attention the first time." Sasuke said.

"I…You…Whatever." Naruto muttered. Sasuke smirked.

"You are coming though right? This weekend I mean?" Sasuke asked.

Naruto though he heard a hint of hopefulness in the other boy's voice, but dismissed it. He thought for a moment.

"Yeah, I'll come, but no funny business. If I find out that this_ is _just a stupid prank, I _will_ do something drastic that I will _not_ regret later on." Naruto said cheerfully. Sasuke shook his head.

"Whatever dobe, I'll see you tomorrow." He said and followed Naruto to the door.


	5. Chapter 4

Naruto walked home, shivering slightly as the wind blew. It was freezing and he had left his jacket at the Uchiha's. At the last moment, he turned in the opposite direction of his apartment and made his way over to Kiba's. He knocked on the door and jumped slightly when Kiba whipped it open.

"Oh…Hey man, how's it goin'?" he asked. Naruto grinned.

"Good, slightly cold, but good. Actually, I want to tell you about something…I think you'll find it interesting." Naruto explained as Kiba stepped aside to let him in.

"So what is it?" Kiba asked as he plopped down on the couch. Naruto sat down next to him ad sighed.

"Please, don't freak out okay?" he asked.

"I'm not promising anything." Kiba replied.

"Well, I was walking home when Sasuke pulls up next to me in his car. We got into a little argument, and then all of a sudden, he invites me over for break and then, he never even explains why!" Naruto said exasperatedly.

"Sasuke…invited _you_ over for break?" Kiba asked, sitting up.

"That's really…weird." He said. Naruto grinned.

"I know!" he said.

"But you're not going, are you?" Kiba asked.

"Yeah, why not? Oh, wait 'till Hinata hears this!" he said excitedly.

"Naruto, slow down. Look man, I really don't think you should go. I mean, what if Sasuke's planning something. I just don't want to see my best friend get hurt anymore. That thing with those girls the other day was one thing, but…" Kiba finished seriously.

"Look, I know what you're thinking, I thought about it to, but I really don't think he'll do anything. I think that, for whatever reason, he just wants me over for the holiday." Naruto said.

"If you say so, but if anything happens to you I'm going to break that guy's jaw." Kiba growled. Naruto laughed.

"Hey, could I use your phone?" Naruto asked. Kiba shrugged.

"Sure." He said. Naruto got up and walked into the kitchen and dialed the number to the hospital.

"Hi, is doctor Tsunade in?" he asked the receptionist.

"Yes, hold on one moment please." The woman said. He waited a few minutes before he heard Tsunade's voice on the other line.

"Yeah? What is it?" she asked.

"Hi Tsunade, it's Naruto, I just wanted to let you know that I'm going over a friends house for break so you don't have to worry about me coming over." He said.

"Oh…okay then." She said.

"I'll talk to you later Naruto." Then the line went dead.

Naruto walked back into the living room and sat back down on the couch. Kiba pulled out a gaming system from the TV cabinet and handed Naruto a controller. They spent a few hours playing before Naruto finally decided to go home. He got to his apartment and unlocked the door, not bothering to turn on any lights. The moonlight streaming through the window was enough to light the entire apartment. He pulled off his clothes and lay down on his bed. It was actually one of those beds that pulled out from the sofa, but his apartment was small and times were rough so he had to make due. He thought about all that had happened today, but after a few moments of pondering why Sasuke would ask him over, he gave up. He knew he would never figure it out. He soon drifted off into a dreamless sleep.

When he woke up the next morning he showered and got ready, wolfing down a granola bar before running out the door. When he got outside he found that a black convertible sat in the driveway, the engine purring softly. Behind the wheel sat none other than Sasuke.

"Hey, why're you here?" he asked.

Sasuke shrugged. "I just figured I'd give you a ride today." He said.

Naruto grinned. "Thanks." He said and slid into the passenger seat.

They walked into class together and the whole classroom went dead silent and then burst into whispers. Naruto sat in his usual seat, feeling very self conscious. Suddenly Sakura appeared next to him.

"So Naruto, mind telling me why you were with Sasuke?" she asked icily.

Naruto swallowed hard. "I…uh…" he stuttered. Sasuke looked over, glaring evenly at the pink haired girl.

"I meant it when I told you to lay off him." He ground out. Sakura didn't look put out.

"Oh, but Sasuke, why would you want to hang out with him? Wouldn't you rather go out to lunch with me?" she asked sweetly.

"No, actually, if I wanted to go to lunch with you, I would've asked. Now go away." Sasuke replied.

Sakura shot one last glare at Naruto and stomped away with a 'Hmph'.

"Thanks, I thought I was in for another beating for sure." Naruto said in a slightly grudging tone as Kakashi walked into the room.

School seemed to drag on longer than usual and when it was finally over, Naruto found himself once again in Sasuke's car. Sasuke drove him home, but called him back after letting him out of the car.

"Yeah?" Naruto asked.

"I'll see you on Saturday, I won't be in school tomorrow. Be there at three o'clock." He said.

"Okay, I'll see you later then." Naruto said with a grin and walked into the apartment complex. He stopped before going up the steps. "Maybe…maybe I should buy Sasuke something. I mean, it's the holidays, it only seems right…" he said to himself and caught a bus to downtown.

He looked in the shops windows and eventually found something perfect. It was a picture frame, to replace the one he had broken. It had a black platform with a majestic tiger carved from some sort of metal on it. Two glass plates held a sample picture between them and it just had a Sasukeness about it that made Naruto have to buy it. He asked the woman behind the counter if she could wrap it for a gift. She nodded and Naruto gave her a little extra before heading home.

Naruto wanted school to just end so he could get home and pack for the weekend. He was kind of nervous, but couldn't wait for it to be Saturday. When he finally got home, it didn't take long to pack, so he watched TV for a bit, did his homework and then decided to turn in early, which was around midnight. He got up surprisingly late. It was almost noon. He couldn't remember the last time he had slept for so long. He felt good and refreshed after taking a shower and making some breakfast…er…lunch. He watched TV for a while before finally going to wait for a bus. He arrived at Sasuke's a few minutes before three, but he knew Sasuke wouldn't mind. He knocked eagerly on the door and a few seconds later, Sasuke appeared with a strange half smile on his face.

"Hey dobe." He said. Naruto just grinned.

"Hey teme." he replied and stepped inside.

He followed Sasuke up the stairs into his room and looked at the picture on the desk. Sasuke had gotten rid of the frame, but had not replaced it. It reminded Naruto of his gift.

"Oh yeah, I got you something." He said, pulling the package out of his bag. Sasuke's eyes momentarily widened.

"Why?" he asked. Naruto shrugged.

"It's Christmastime, your supposed to give friends…or in my case the person who invites you over for the holidays even though you have no idea why, a gift." He said. Sasuke took the package and carefully unwrapped it.

"Wow Naruto…" was all he could say.

"It reminded me of you and the fact that you're kind of a picture frame short." He said sheepishly. Sasuke placed the picture carefully into the frame and stepped back to admire it.

"Thank you…" Sasuke said. Naruto's eyes widened.

"Hold on…the great Sasuke Uchiha is thanking me?" he asked in fake shock.

"Ha-ha…but I mean it." Sasuke said. The room fell into an awkward silent for a few moments before Sasuke spoke.

"Naruto?" he asked. Naruto looked up at him, unable to identify the look in Sasuke's dark eyes.

"I…I wanted to talk to you about something important. It's part of the reason I invited you here. Naruto's eyebrows puckered. What could he be talking about? Sasuke took a deep breath.

"Since a few days after you moved here, I realized that you were different from everyone else…and…at first I didn't understand…I thought I could just ignore it but…I can't and I …I want you to be my boyfriend." He finally managed. Naruto's jaw fell open in shock.

"I understand though if you say no though…and if you wanted to leave I could get someone to give you a ride…" Sasuke muttered.

Naruto wasn't sure of what to do. It made him uncomfortable, knowing that he was the cause of Sasuke's sudden difficulty speaking and yet… How could he just say yes? Sasuke hated him…or had at least, up until this point, given him a strong impression that he did. But now, as he stared at Sasuke, the perfect Sasuke, who never made mistakes, never screwed anything up, he couldn't help but want to say yes. The boy standing in front of him, with his eyes on the floor was so different, so human, from the Sasuke he knew. Suddenly an evil thought popped into his head.

'Say no…let him feel how it is to be rejected. To be _laughed at_. Give him a taste of what you've had to go through because of him.' The voice said. Naruto experienced a sudden, horrible vision of Sasuke, looking bewildered and hurt as Naruto laughed.

'No…I wouldn't do that to him…no one deserves that.' Naruto though resolutely and looked for a few more moments at Sasuke.

"I'm sorry Sasuke…I just…I don't know what to do…How can I know that what you're saying is true? How can I know that you aren't pretending?" Naruto asked quietly. Sasuke gave a soft, humorless laugh.

"I thought about that…I thought that it wouldn't matter that I hadn't treated you the way I should have…but now that I think about it with you standing in front of me, and I can hear and picture everything that's happened, I realize how stupid it was of me to think that you wouldn't care." Sasuke said shamefacedly.

At this point, Naruto was having difficulty thinking of reasons to say no. A large part of him wanted to say yes... The fact that Sasuke was a boy made no difference; Naruto had known for a few years that he found guys more attractive than girls…

"I could make it up to you…or try. I would…if you told me to do something because it would make you feel better I'd do it…just…" Sasuke trailed off and Naruto could tell that he was becoming desperate. Naruto could also tell that Sasuke, though he may have been experienced in many things, was a stranger to rejection. He wasn't used to it and it scared him. Again that voice in the back of Naruto's mind.

'Look at him, he's pathetic…he thinks he can get whatever he wants when he wants it…besides what if he's lying? He could trick you…You know like they do in movies, get a picture of the two of you kissing and then block out his face and post it on the internet.'

But Naruto had stopped listening. He had stopped at the word 'kissing' and he couldn't help but look at Sasuke's lips…wondering how they'd feel on his. He could use it as a test…but if it didn't work what about Sasuke? Well…the voice in his head had a point there…if it didn't work, it would definitely give Sasuke a good dose of reality…

"Kiss me." Naruto said quietly, though it seemed loud after such a long period of silence. Sasuke's head moved so fast that for a moment, Naruto thought he might have gotten whiplash.

"_What?_" He asked.

"Kiss me and I'll give you an answer." Naruto said. Sasuke hesitated for a brief moment before placing a hand on Naruto's cheek and leaning in.

Naruto's lips were soft and warm under his and he couldn't help but wrap his other hand around the blonde's neck. As soon as Sasuke's lips met his, Naruto knew the answer. The kiss felt right, it was like everything around them had disappeared. To soon it seemed, Sasuke pulled away and though realistically the kiss hadn't been long, both were out of breath. Sasuke looked to Naruto expectantly but Naruto said nothing. Instead, he pulled Sasuke close and attacked his lips. His dominance was brief. Before he knew it Sasuke had him pinned against a wall. This was short-lived as well. A door closed and Sasuke quickly stepped away from the blonde.

"Sasuke I'm home!" Itachi's voice called up the stairs.

"I talked to my brother by the way. He said he wouldn't leave you alone until you weren't single anymore…" Sasuke said as the two walked downstairs. "So, you shouldn't have to worry about him." He said. Naruto grinned as they walked into the kitchen.

"Oh, hello Naruto." Itachi said, glancing at Sasuke. "I trust things went well?" he asked.

"Better than expected." Sasuke replied. Itachi smiled.

"Very good." He said. "I invited a few friends over, they should be here shortly." He said. Naruto and Sasuke exchanged looks.

A few hours later, Naruto had moved his things into his temporary room and the house was now full of people, from their age to Itachi's. The music was turned up all the way and everyone was dancing, even Sasuke. Naruto looked over to the raven and smiled but then moved a hand to his head. The headache that he had felt building all night had just hit him full force.

"Hey, Sasuke, I'm gonna go get something from upstairs." He shouted in the raven's ear above the music.

Sasuke nodded and watched the blonde disappear in the crowd. Naruto got upstairs and began digging through his bag for the small bottle. He heard the door shut and didn't bother to turn around.

"Sasuke, I said I'd be right…" his voice trailed off as he turned around. The man standing there was definitely not Sasuke.

He had long dark hair and sickly pale skin. His dark eyes were like slits and they terrified Naruto so much that he found himself unable to speak. Before Naruto could blink he was pushed down on the bed, the man on top of him.

"Scream and you die." The man hissed into Naruto's ear.

He felt the man's lips on his own and his shirt was being unbuttoned. Naruto whimpered as the man ran his cold fingers down his bare chest. The whimper led to shaking as the man's fingers found the waistband of his jeans and began to unbutton them. He was going to…before he could even finish that thought, he was flipped onto his stomach and his jeans were pulled down around his knees. He heard the zipper of the man's pants and clenched his jaw. His eyes filled with tears and he closed them, trying to think of anything but what was happening to him. He waited for the pain and was surprised when the man's weight was suddenly yanked off of him. Naruto turned his head to see Sasuke, holding the ugly man up by his shirt collar. Naruto had never seen Sasuke so angry. Sasuke pulled his fist back to punch him but the man slipped snakelike out of his grasp. Sasuke whipped around only to receive a punch to the face. Naruto watched, frozen with fear, as Sasuke was tossed to the ground. Before Naruto could blink, however, Sasuke was on his feet again and managed to land a blow to the man's stomach. Before Sasuke could hit the man, he was at the window. He flung it open and with a mocking salute jumped out into the night. Had anyone else jumped out of a window, Naruto would have been quite curious as to their fate but all Naruto cared about now was the growing distance between them. Sasuke rushed over to him but Naruto pushed him away and roughly pulled his pants back on before he let Sasuke take him into his arms. Before he knew it, he was crying. Sasuke held him tightly, whispering softly in his ear.

"S-Sasuke h-he was going t-to…" Naruto sobbed.

"I-I was s-so scared…" he gripped onto Sasuke's shirt and Sasuke bent his head down to the blonde's ear.

"Shh…it's alright Naruto, I've got you, you're safe now…" he whispered as he rubbed Naruto's back.

"C'mon, put your shirt on, we'll go back downstairs and tell Itachi." Sasuke said. Naruto shook his head.

"I don't want to go back downstairs." He said.

"Well, I have to tell Itachi, and I'm not leaving you up here alone." Sasuke said firmly.

Reluctantly, Naruto nodded and took his hand in his own as they walked out of the room. They quickly found Itachi who was dancing fluidly with another guy.

"Itachi!" Sasuke shouted, grabbing his brother's arm. Itachi looked at him, clearly annoyed.

"What Sasuke?" he mouthed.

Sasuke dragged him into the kitchen where the music wasn't as lout and there weren't any people.

"Itachi, I found Naruto upstairs with some creep on him trying to…" he paused and Naruto felt his grip tighten. "He was trying to rape him Itachi." He ground out. Itachi's eyes widened.

"Naruto, what did he look like?" Itachi asked. Naruto quickly described the man to Itachi, who scowled.

"Orochimaru…" he muttered, his eyes narrowing. "Why is he here?" he asked himself.

"Sasuke take Naruto upstairs and don't leave him alone, I have a small issue to deal with down here." He muttered.

Sasuke nodded and pulled Naruto back upstairs. He grabbed Naruto's things and put them in his room and finally released Naruto's hand.

"Why don't you lie down?" Sasuke suggested.

Naruto hesitantly laid down on the black sheets and was surrounded by Sasuke's scent. It was unlike anything he had ever smelled before and he wanted to get closer to it. He felt Sasuke lay down next to him and turned to face him.

"Sasuke?" he asked. "Yes Naruto?" Sasuke replied as he wrapped his arms around the blonde.

"I'm sorry." he said.

But exactly what Naruto was sorry for, Sasuke didn't find out. The blonde fell asleep second after he had said it.


	6. Chapter 5

I know that it isn't very long, but I think I've updated i record time. Anyway, please review, constructive criticism is always welcome!

At some point during the night Sasuke decided to change out of his clothes and at least down to his boxers. He pulled his arm out from underneath Naruto and watched as the blonde unconsciously curled up and scooted as far towards the wall as he could. Sasuke quickly pulled off his shirt and pants and went to the bathroom for a drink before returning. He laid back down and before he knew it, Naruto was once again relaxed in his arms. Naruto woke up first and found that he was still wrapped safely in Sasuke's arms. He sat up and yawned, realizing that he had slept in his clothes. He carefully untangled himself from Sasuke and crawled over him. He pulled out a change of clothes from his bag and quickly pulled them on. He made his way downstairs and couldn't help but grin. People were passed out all over the place. He stepped carefully over quite a few bodies to make it to the kitchen. He rummaged through the fridge looking for some food and almost dropped the carton of milk in his hands when someone spoke.

"Well, someone's up early." Itachi's smooth voice drifted across the kitchen. Naruto sighed in relief and looked at the clock.

"You call noon early?" he said. Itachi shrugged.

He had a mug of coffee in his hands and was wearing a red bath robe. Naruto got the feeling that there wasn't anything under it.

"Considering how late everyone was up, yes, noon is early." Itachi said and sat down at the table. He sighed and stirred the spoon in his coffee.

"I must apologize. I didn't realize that bastard would be here last night. I certainly didn't invite him, but he has a tendency to show up whether he has and invitation or not." Itachi said and it took Naruto a few minutes to realize that he was talking about the one who…

"No, if you didn't know then there's no reason to apologize. The only thing I would consider asking an apology for is the first time I came here." Naruto said, referring to their rather odd first meeting. . Itachi smiled.

"Yes, well, you were quite interesting and if you weren't with my brother, I saw no reason not to pursue you." He said.

Silence surrounded them, but Naruto took comfort in the fact that it was not awkward. Suddenly Sasuke ran into the room, nearly sliding into the table with his bare feet. He seemed worried, but looked at Naruto and heaved a relieved sigh.

"Way to tell me where you were." He said angrily, sitting down. Naruto smiled sheepishly.

"Sorry Sasuke, I didn't want to wake you up." He said. Sasuke rolled his eyes and looked over to Itachi.

"So, what did you do with Orochimaru?" he asked, spitting the name out like it burned his tongue to say it.

Itachi glanced at Naruto before speaking. "Well…we weeded out all of his men and I sent Sasori and Deidara after him but they couldn't catch up. I looked like he had a car waiting just down the street." Itachi said and Naruto briefly wondered who to aforementioned men were.

"Hmm... I can't wait to get my hands on that bastard…" Sasuke muttered as his brother stood up and walked out of the kitchen. "Sasuke?" Naruto asked.

"What Naruto?" Sasuke replied.

"I…I'm sorry." Naruto said. Sasuke raised an eyebrow.

"Why're _you _sorry?" he asked.

"I overreacted last night" Naruto said.

"No you didn't…" Sasuke began.

"I did to! I shouldn't have been crying and I just made to big a deal out of it." Naruto interrupted.

"I probably would've cried…" Sasuke said. Naruto gave him a look.

"You don't cry." He said. Sasuke looked up at him, pain in his eyes.

"Don't I?" he asked sadly. Naruto's eyes widened as he thought about what he had just said.

"Sasuke! Sasuke, that's not what I meant!" Naruto exclaimed.

"I know what you meant, but still… I suppose it doesn't really matter. I don't have much of a choice." he said. Naruto looked at him, puzzled by his strange words.

"What do you mean?" he asked.

"A true Uchiha shouldn't show their emotions. I haven't cried since I was little. I didn't even cry at my parent's funeral." He said. Naruto's eyes widened.

"What about your brother? I've seen him smile." He said. Sasuke smiled sadly.

"I haven't seen my brother really smile in a long time." He said. Naruto couldn't find anything to say.

"How about we make some breakfast?" Sasuke suggested.

Naruto nodded and helped him prepare rather large amounts of food. Soon, the people passed out in the living room began to stir, awakened by the delicious aroma floating out of the kitchen. Eventually, a line was formed and everyone managed to get some food, well, everyone who got up. A few people simply refused to move.

"Hey, Naruto, I've got a few things that I need to go and do, you can stay here if you want." Sasuke said before heading upstairs to get dressed. When Sasuke came back downstairs, Naruto was waiting at the front door.

"Do you mind if I go with you?" he asked. Sasuke looked a bit taken a back but nodded.

"Yeah, you can come." he said. Naruto grinned as they walked out to the car. They drove for a while before pulling up to a cemetery.

"Sasuke, it's Christmas Eve, why are we in a cemetery?" Naruto asked. Sasuke shrugged.

"I visit my parents every Christmas." He said. Naruto looked abashed. He was so stupid! Of course that's what they were here for.

"So…" Naruto trailed off, he couldn't think of anything to say.

Sasuke easily found his way to the gravestones and knelt down. He brushed the snow off both his mother and father's headstones and began speaking softly.

"Hi Mom…I'm sorry I haven't been here in a while, I've been kind of busy." He said.

"I'm doing really well in school, and I'm still the president of the student council, but there's something even better than that. I finally, you know, met someone…his name's Naruto and he even came with me to meet you." He said and motioned Naruto over. Naruto knelt down next to Sasuke and took his hand.

"Well, introduce yourself." Sasuke said. Naruto looked down at the stone and smiled.

"Hi Mrs. Uchiha, my name's Naruto, it's a pleasure to meet you." He said. Sasuke squeezed his hand.

"See, isn't he great?" he said. Sasuke also talked to his father before standing up to leave. Naruto also stood but turned to Sasuke, a sad look in his eyes.

"Sasuke?" he asked.

"Hm?"

"You can cry you know…I won't tell anyone." Naruto said gently.

Before Naruto knew what was happening, Sasuke was sobbing, his head resting on his shoulder. Naruto wrapped his hands around him, but didn't say anything. He knew that words wouldn't help; only being able to let out all the pent up sadness would. After a little while Sasuke calmed down and they walked back to the car, neither speaking.

"So…where are your parents?" Sasuke asked conversationally.

"Well, my dad was buried in India, and so was my mom when she died, so I suppose that's where they'd be." He said.

"Have you ever gone to see them?" Sasuke asked.

"Man, I barely keep my apartment; I don't exactly have a thousand dollars to go to India and back." He said with a grin.

"If you could, though, would you?" Sasuke inquired. Naruto shrugged.

"If I could, of course." He said.

Sasuke gave a small half smile. When they got home, Sasuke disappeared into the library and left Naruto to go find something to do. Naruto turned on the TV, but left it on mute with subtitles on. He wanted to find out what Sasuke was up to. When he heard the door open, he whirled around to see Sasuke sneaking up the stairs, a laptop and some papers under one arm.

"Having fun?" Naruto asked. Sasuke froze in mid step but quickly regained his composure.

"Yes, actually." He said.

Naruto remained suspicious, but decided not to follow the raven. A few minutes later, Sasuke returned with a thin wrapped package in his hands. He handed it to Naruto and sat down.

"Merry Christmas dobe." He said with a smirk.

Naruto felt the package, wondering what it could possibly be. It felt floppy like…a folder or something… He unwrapped it only to find that it really was a folder.

"Wow, Sasuke, thanks, a folder, I'm so happy." He said sarcastically. Sasuke rolled his eyes.

"Just open it." He said.

Naruto opened it slowly, almost afraid of what it would be. There were two papers in the folder, but what was on them was such a shock, that Naruto almost dropped it.

"S-Sasuke…I…I can't take these! This is way to much, all I gave you was a picture frame!" Naruto exclaimed. In the folder were two plane tickets for two weeks in India.

"No, you gave me your time, and your trust, which are both probably more than I deserve, but most of all, you gave me your heart, and I am most certainly not worthy of that, so I'm attempting to make up for the total and complete unfairness. Besides, if I remember correctly I've also been a bit of a jerk." Sasuke said, before pulling the blonde into a kiss. His tongue slipped into the blonde's mouth as Naruto's hands moved to pull off his shirt.

"Mhm…what about Itachi?" Naruto asked. He knew where this was going and didn't want to be walked in on.

"He went out with someone for the day, won't be home till evening." Sasuke sighed. Soon, both boys clothes were off and forgotten as their hands roamed each others bodies.

SOMETIME LATER

Naruto and Sasuke were tangled in each others arms on the couch, a blanket wrapped over them as they watched TV.

"Hey Sasuke?" Naruto asked.

"Hm?"

"Do you think we could go visit Kiba and Hinata later? It's Christmas after all, and they're my best friends." He said. He felt Sasuke shrug behind him.

"I guess if you want to." He said. Naruto grinned.

"Cool." He said.

"Sasuke?" he asked once more.

"What?" Sasuke asked, his voice still soft.

"Thank you." Naruto said.

"What for?" Sasuke asked. The way he saw it, there wasn't really anything the blonde should be thanking him for.

"What do you mean what for? For everything teme! For inviting me over, for saving me, for the tickets…" he paused and a blush spread over his cheeks and he was momentarily glad that Sasuke was behind him. "And for you…" he muttered. Sasuke's grip tightened briefly.

"Your welcome." He whispered.

Yeah...um about that...it's rated teen for a reason, because I don't want to write..._that_ sort of thing, so it's implied, but I'm not going to go into details, sorry to dissapoint!

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	7. Chapter 6

I really have to thank SasuNaru RULES the world 4 EVA for noticing and understanding why I made the great Uchiha Sasuke cry! If the rest of you would like to know it is because, believe it or not, Sasuke is human! He does have actual emotions people! You can argue and say, so what, he doesn't show them, and you know what I say? Poops for you! any way, thanks for reading!

When the two boys heard the jingle of keys as they unlocked the front door, they both scrambled to find their clothing. Neither wanted to be caught (quite literally) with their pants down, afraid that Itachi might do something drastic in his enjoyment at their embarrassment. They pulled their shoes on, making it look like they were just getting ready two leaved when Itachi walked in.

"So, did you two have fun while I was gone?" Itachi asked as he hung his coat up. Naruto was grateful that he was turned around, because he felt his cheeks heat up, even though the question had been completely innocent.

"Yes, we did actually." Sasuke said calmly before dragging Naruto out the door.

"So, how do we get to Kiba's?" Sasuke asked as he slid into the driver's seat.

Naruto slid in next to him and buckled up before directing Sasuke to turn left out of the driveway. When they got to Kiba's, Naruto came up with a bright idea to surprise him with his new 'boyfriend'. He knocked on the door and pushed Sasuke to the side so he couldn't be seen when the door was open. They heard Kiba call 'just a minute' and Sasuke decided that he didn't feel like standing in the snowy grass.

"C'mon? Please?" Naruto pleaded, not knowing that Kiba was on the other side of the door with an eyebrow raised, looking at Hinata, who shrugged.

"Why? My shoes are getting wet!" Sasuke said quietly. Naruto pouted and Sasuke sighed exasperatedly.

"Fine." He muttered.

"Yes!" Naruto said in victory. Kiba opened the door looking very confused.

"Naruto? Who are you talking to?" he asked and was about to look around, but Naruto pushed him back inside.

"Just wait a minute and you'll find out!" he said. Kiba rolled his eyes but stepped back.

"Okay, ladies and gentlemen, without further a due, I would like to introduce my boyfriend…" Naruto paused dramatically and stepped aside to reveal Sasuke.

"Sasuke Uchiha!" he said. Kiba's jaw almost hit the floor.

"T-that _bastard_ is your _boyfriend_?" Kiba asked in shock.

"Uh, yeah, why is something wrong with that?" Naruto asked.

"I…Uh, no, not at all." Kiba said.

"Well, what do you think Hinata, are you surprised?" Naruto asked.

"I-I…W-well, I d-didn't realize that you f-felt for _Sasuke_ t-that way. You a-always made it s-seem like you h-hated him s-so much." Hinata stuttered. Naruto grinned sheepishly, but it suddenly faded.

"But you aren't surprised that I'm gay?" He asked. Hinata smiled prettily.

"K-Kiba told me m-months ago." She said. Naruto glared at Kiba.

"You promised you wouldn't tell anyone you liar!" he snapped.

"Sorry man." Kiba said, though he didn't sound sorry at all.

"Hey Sasuke, can I talk to you?" Kiba asked

Naruto looked at him suspiciously but shrugged it off when Sasuke nodded and followed the other boy into the kitchen. Kiba whirled around, glaring at Sasuke.

"I don't know what you think you're doing, but I swear, if Naruto gets hurt, I'll rip you apart." He growled. Sasuke smirked, unafraid.

"Naruto isn't going to get hurt while I'm around." He stated calmly.

"Hmph. I don't believe you." Kiba said.

"Well, you're going to have to. I'll even swear on my honor if you want me to. I care about Naruto, whether you accept that or not. I won't let anything happen to him." Sasuke said. Kiba still looked suspicious, but nodded.

"I'll hold you to that Uchiha." He said, before walking back into the other room.

"So Kiba, what was that all about?" Naruto asked.

"Nothing, just wanted to get my point across." Kiba said.

"Oh." Naruto said and resumed his conversation with Hinata.

"Hey Sasuke, I was just talking to Hinata about those tickets, and I was wondering, when _did _you schedule that trip for?" Naruto asked.

"A week after school gets out." Sasuke said. Naruto pouted.

"But Sasuke, that's so far away!" he said. Sasuke shrugged.

"It's not like we could just skip school for two weeks." He said. Naruto nodded slowly.

"Yeah, I guess you're right." He said.

Kiba pulled out his infamous gaming system and proceeded to kick Naruto's ass in one of his fighting games and Sasuke grumbled a bit before taking over for the blonde. It turned out that Sasuke was quite good at that particular game, and continued to rub that fact in Kiba's face in numerous matches. Kiba sighed and paused the game as the phone rang and he picked it up, mumbling something about 'Inuzuka residence'. His eyes widened and he looked slightly panicked.

"O-of course! N-no! No one's over mom, I promise!" he exclaimed.

"Yeah, Mhm, great, see you in a bit." He said before hanging up.

"Shit! Sorry about this, but you guys have got to scram! My mom is turning down the street and I'm not supposed to have people over…" he said sheepishly. Naruto glared.

"Oh way to go dumb ass, you're gonna get us all in trouble!" he snapped. Kiba grinned.

"Oops." He said sarcastically as Naruto pulled Sasuke quickly out the door. Hinata smiled at him and thanked him for a good time before turning to go.

"Hey Hinata?" Kiba called and Hinata turned around.

"Uh…I…call me later, okay?" he asked softly. Hinata smiled and nodded, a blush adorning her cheeks, before turning to leave.

MEANWHILE

"So, do you want to go over to my place?" Naruto asked.

"I mean, it's not big or anything, but…" his voice trailed off as Sasuke started the car.

"Sure." He said, causing Naruto to smile.

Naruto pointed Sasuke in the directed of his apartment and they arrived there in only a few minutes. Sasuke parked the car and Naruto led him inside. He unlocked the door and sheepishly opened it.

"Like I said…not big or anything…" he muttered. Sasuke squeezed his hand.

"It's nice." He said and looked around.

It really was small, kind of like one of those hotel rooms. It had one large room with a TV, a table and couch that was currently pulled out for a bed. There was also a smaller room that had all of his kitchen appliances, which included a small microwave, a mini fridge and a stove. There was also a toaster on the counter. If you were looking for the bathroom all you would have to do is walk into the kitchen and turn around. The bathroom was right there, and it was larger than one would expect. Now Sasuke understood why Naruto always seemed so…disheveled. He really did have money problems.

"So, do you want something to drink?" Naruto asked, as Sasuke sat down at the table.

"No, not really." He said and Naruto nodded.

"This must be kind of weird for you…You're probably so used to a nice, clean house, that's so much bigger than this…" Naruto said. Sasuke's lips twitched up into a smile.

"I don't care about this, it doesn't matter to me how much money you have, or whether your house is big, all that matters to me is _you. _You understand that right?" Sasuke asked and Naruto nodded, a grin plastered on his features.

"Good…hey, today's Sunday right?" Sasuke asked. Naruto nodded once more and Sasuke gave a kind of half smirk.

"Well…then I suppose I only have the rest of the day to spend with you." He said. Naruto's eyes widened.

"What? You seem so surprised." Sasuke said; an amused look in his eyes.

"You're kicking me out?" Naruto asked. There was something in his eyes that Sasuke couldn't decipher.

"No, I just figured you'd want to come home after 2 days in someone else's house." He said casually. "Why? Do you _want_ to stay longer?"

"Well…yeah." Naruto admitted. Sasuke smirked

"All I did was ask. How do you know _I_ want you to say longer?" he asked in a slightly arrogant manor. Naruto smiled.

"I'm your boyfriend; of course you want me over." He said with a slight matter-of-fact tone accompanying his grin. Sasuke let out a sigh as he pulled the blonde with him onto the bed. "I suppose…" he said as he nuzzled his face into the spot where Naruto's neck met his shoulder. Naruto laughed and squirmed.

"S-stop! Sasuke t-that tickles!" he said. Sasuke smirked against Naruto's shirt and continued.

"C'mon! Stop it!" Naruto tried to snap between bursts of laughter. Sasuke slowly stopped and wrapped his arms around Naruto as he turned to face him.

"Sasuke…you never did tell me what happened to your parents…" he muttered. He felt Sasuke's arms stiffen and prepared himself for the worst. Sasuke however, remained calm. Silent, but calm.

"Itachi…Itachi killed them." He said. Naruto's eyes widened and he pushed away.

"Like, Itachi as in, your brother Itachi?!" he exclaimed. Sasuke nodded and sat up.

"But, before you do anything stupid, let me explain." He said. Naruto thought for a moment, but slowly nodded.

"My father had always had extremely high expectations for my brother. If he came home with an A- on a test, it was always, 'Low grades will not be tolerated in this household, you had better bring home higher marks next time.' Itachi was already class president, and president in most of the clubs that mattered and had gotten a black belt in karate when he was 8.

When he was 13, he started hanging out with some…less than approvable people. He began distancing himself from the family, and eventually got dragged into a whole different world. A disturbing world, full of violence, gangs and drugs. Of course, it wasn't intentional, he didn't mean to do any of that, but with all the pressure that our father put on him, he needed a way out.

Unfortunately he chose the wrong way. He came home, higher than hell and got in a huge argument with my dad. It ended pretty roughly… it ended my family. I'll never forget it…my dad moved to hit Itachi who, out of instinct by now, pulled out a pocket knife and stabbed him. It was like he was an animal let out of his cage. He didn't care who he was fighting or how hard he was hit…my mom went next, she was only trying to calm him down…there was so much blood…and…" Sasuke's voice trailed off and a shiver passed through him. Naruto sat there, unable to move and not knowing what to say, so Sasuke continued.

"The case went to court and my brother pled temporary insanity. He didn't exactly get off, but he didn't go to jail, instead he was sent to rehab and I was placed temporarily in foster care. I hated my brother; I couldn't stand to look at him. It hurt me to think that someone so close to me could do something horrible like that. My guardians would take me to see him, even though I told them I didn't want to.

When he was 18 he was deemed stable enough to completely stop his rehab programs and become my legal guardian. It was really…awkward at first, and I could tell that Itachi was really trying to…I don't know, not make it up to me, but help me understand that he wasn't an evil person and that he knew that he had made a terrible mistake. I eventually began understanding. After all, my father had high expectations from me to. Now, it's almost like it used to be…almost. There's always a part of me that will hate him for what he did, but he's different now and despite that part of me, I do love him…" Sasuke finished.

Naruto blinked furiously, trying not to cry. It wasn't that he was a sissy, but hearing something like that doesn't make you happy. He would never have guessed that something so awful had happened to Sasuke.

"Sasuke…" he began and paused when Sasuke gave him a 'look'

"I know you don't want my pity, and I'm not going to give it to you, so relax. It's so hard to believe…looking at you, and looking at your brother, I'd never guess." he said. Sasuke rolled his eyes.

"That's the _point_. We do at least make an attempt to seem normal." He said. Naruto frowned.

"Well, you did a horrible job." He said. Sasuke raised an eyebrow.

"If you were _normal_ we wouldn't be here right now would we?" Naruto asked. Sasuke shrugged.

"I suppose not. I'll be right back." He said and placed a soft kiss on Naruto's lips before going into the bathroom.

Naruto simply laid there, arms spread wide. Despite everything that had happened, Sasuke's kisses, no matter how small, still left him feeling… breathless. He also had a hard time believing that Sasuke actually cared for him. Sasuke, this amazing god like creature thought _he_ was attractive. It was mind boggling. He didn't think that Sasuke was too good for him or anything (please, way overused plot) but found their relationship a tiny bit amusing, given the circumstances.

"Are we staying here tonight?" Sasuke asked.

"As long as I'm with my Prince Charming, I don't care." Naruto said jokingly. Sasuke rolled his eyes.

"If I'm Prince Charming, then you must be my princess." He said before he leaned down and captured Naruto's lips on his own, effectively cutting off his reply. "No fair." Naruto muttered with a smile.

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	8. Chapter 7

So, just a quick message to anyone who still reads this. Naruto used to be a big part of my life and then for a while, it barely mattered. Lately though, I've been reminded of just how awesome it is. I'm back to working on this fic and a new one, so I really hope you all like them. As always, reviews are appreciated.

"Naruto?" Sasuke asked as the two of them lay on Naruto's lumpy pull out mattress. Naruto nodded against Sasuke's arm to show he was listening. "Next time you see Itachi, don't say anything, okay, and try not to act any different. I don't want to remind him of the past when he wants to move forward so badly." He said. Naruto yawned and nodded as he sat up stretching his arms and grinning when he almost whacked Sasuke in the head. Sasuke scowled at him.

"What's for dinner?" Naruto asked.

"It's your house, you cook." Sasuke said. Naruto pouted for a minute then smiled.

"Okay, then let's go to your house." He said.

"What? Can't cook?" Sasuke asked smugly.

"I can make the wonder that is known as Ramen." He said proudly. Sasuke made a face and Naruto's jaw dropped. "Y-you don't like Ramen?!" he asked.

"If I can avoid it I don't eat it." Sasuke said. Naruto gaped at him.

"B-but how can you not like it?" he cried.

"Naruto, I honestly don't see what the huge deal is. They're just noodles." Sasuke said calmly, a slight smirk on his face.

"Yeah but!" Naruto exclaimed.

"Look, are we eating here or not?" Sasuke asked.

"I don't really have much besides ramen…" Naruto admitted.

"Then let's go out somewhere." Sasuke suggested. Naruto's eyes narrowed.

"Where somewhere?" he asked. Sasuke shrugged.

"You pick. As long as it's not…'

**scene change**

"Welcome to Ichiraku!"

Naruto grinned.

"Oh come one Sasuke, you don't _have_ to get Ramen, they have other stuff now that they're not just a ramen stand." He said. Sasuke just 'hn'ed. "Would you really rather go somewhere else?" Naruto asked. As much as he liked the restaurant he didn't want to force Sasuke to eat here if he really didn't want to.

"No…it's fine, after all I did say you could pick." Sasuke said. Naruto shrugged.

"Yeah, but I don't want my choice of restaurant to bother you." He said. Sasuke shook his head.

"No, I'll be fine. Like you said, I don't have to get noodles." He replied.

"So we're good?" Naruto asked. Sasuke nodded.

"Cool!" Naruto said happily as Ayame led them to a table.

"So Naruto, I hear you got yourself a boyfriend." Ayame said with a sly smile. Naruto blushed but glared at her.

"Who'd you hear that from?" he asked icily.

"Ask me no questions I'll tell you no lies." Ayame replied in a singsong voice. "But seriously, is it this guy? 'Cause if it's not I wouldn't mind maybe going on a date with him." She said with a playful wink.

"Ha ha ha Ayame, very funny. This is my boyfriend, Sasuke Uchiha, therefore, hands off." Naruto said evenly.

"Are you two quite finished talking about me like I'm not here?" Sasuke asked bluntly. Naruto smiled.

"Sure sure." He said. Sasuke rolled his eyes.

"Well, personally I think it's about time Naruto. Anyway, what'll you two gents have to drink?" she asked.

"Surprise me." Naruto said, knowing that she would bring him the same thing that he always got.

"Just some water." Sasuke said. Ayame nodded.

"Okay, I'll be right back with that." She said.

"So Sasuke, now that we're on a bit more personal level," Naruto begin and Sasuke almost snorted.

"Would you mind giving me a straight answer as to why you invited me over for the holidays?" He requested.

"I would have thought that much was obvious." Sasuke said.

"More or less. But did you invite me over before or after you planned on asking me out?" Naruto questioned.

"Somewhere in-between… at that point I was still debating whether I would go through with it or not." Sasuke admitted. Naruto's eyes widened in fake shock.

"Were you, could it be possible, afraid of rejection?" he asked. Sasuke met his eyes evenly.

"Honestly?" he asked. Naruto nodded. "I was terrified." He said.

Naruto looked down at his hands. H remembered how he had thought about it…how that small part of him really wanted to hurt Sasuke like that… He looked back up and smiled, hoping the raven wouldn't notice anything, but as if that were going to happen.

"Are you all right?" Sasuke asked at once.

"Yeah…I just…it's nothing. Anyways, you were scared that _I_ would reject _you_?" he asked, trying to sound properly shocked. Sasuke nodded hesitantly, not taking his eyes off the blonde.

"Naruto…if I said something wrong, I'd like it if you'd tell me." Sasuke said quietly. Naruto sighed. There was simply no getting around it.

"Well… it's stupid and selfish now that I think about it but when… When you asked me to go out with you… I didn't know what to say and while I was thinking, a part of me…A part of me wanted to say no…to see you hurt the way I had been because of you…" He explained. He wished he could have made it less harsh but he couldn't see how he could have put it any kinder.

"I see." Sasuke said…his voice was strained, muted somehow. "To tell you the truth…I really did think you were going to say no. I didn't even think you'd give me a chance. I certainly hadn't earned it…and there was the possibility of you not being…you know…gay but…I am truly sorry Naruto…you deserved so much better than that."

Naruto couldn't bring himself to look away from those intense onyx eyes. As he stared at them it was impossible to doubt the blazing honesty burning within them.

"It's alright…It's not the worst I've had you know…I'm just glad things turned out the way they did…Anyways back to our original conversation. So, how long have you liked me?

"How long have I liked you or how long have I _known_ I liked you?" Sasuke asked, an amused smile tugging at his lips.

Naruto raised an eyebrow. "There's a difference?" he asked.

Sasuke nodded. "Yes, a very big difference in fact. Realistically I probably developed some sort of feelings for you the moment I laid eyes on you but…I pretended they weren't there…I ignored them and attempted to go on with my life. Soon enough, however, I was finding that very difficult. I felt ridiculously jealous every time I saw you with Inuzuka or that Gaara kid. I then, of course, was utterly infuriated with myself and tried not to think of you for the rest of the day. Funny how that worked out though because every time I tried to do that, I only thought about you more often…"

Naruto's forehead creased in confusion. "You were jealous of Kiba and Gaara?" he asked.

Sasuke smiled as though something were ironic. "Very much so. It made no sense to me why I became so angry every time one of them patted you on the back…touched you in the most casual manner…how desolate I felt every time I saw you smile at one of them. A truly happy smile…one I knew that you would never give to me… Finally I made a resolution. To Hell with my social life I thought. As if I cared about any of the girls around me…as if I cared that half the boys in school practically worshipped me…All I cared about was you… and I set out to find a way to be with you."

Naruto opened his mouth to ask another question but closed it and grinned as Ayame returned with their drinks.

"So do you two know what you want?" she asked.

"The usual for me." Naruto replied.

"I guess I'll have the same." said Sasuke. Naruto raised an eyebrow as Ayame scribbled down the order and walked away. "By the way, what exactly is the usual?" Sasuke asked. Naruto shrugged. "Miso Ramen…sometimes BBQ if they're having a special." He said. Sasuke nodded and leaned back in his seat. "So…are we done with twenty questions?" he asked. Naruto shook his head. "C'mon Sasuke you should know better than that." He said with the air of a parent reprimanding their child. "Of course I should." Sasuke said genially.

"So…" Naruto paused as he struggled to regain his previous train of thought. "Just out of morbid curiosity, what would you have done if I was straight or if I had just flat out said no?" he asked.

Sasuke shrugged. "What could I have done? I suppose I would have apologized for the way I treated you…or perhaps not as it might have made me feel even more stupid… I probably would have settled on trying to win you some other way…maybe if I hung out with you, you would eventually return my feelings… and if not I guess I could have settled for your friendship."

Naruto sat in shocked silence. "You were really that desperate?" he asked though he didn't sound as though he found it pathetic…more like flattering.

Sasuke chuckled darkly. "You don't know the half of it." He muttered, not meeting the blonde's eyes. Naruto couldn't help but pry.

"Then why don't you explain it to me?" he suggested.

"I wouldn't want to ruin your meal." Sasuke stated dryly.

Naruto flashed him a suggestive grin. "Try me…at least give me one theory." He said.

"Okay, fine, one idea included kidnapping you and carting you off to a deserted island to have my way with you." Sasuke said, though at this point, Naruto could see the amusement in his eyes and he laughed.

"I doubt I would have put up much of a fight…" he said. It was Sasuke's turn to be surprised.

"Oh? But I thought you hated me…or at least never cared for me very much." he said.

"No…It's hard to explain…" Naruto muttered.

"Well…why don't you try? I'm quite curious now." Sasuke said.

"Well…I suppose it wouldn't hurt… Oh! Thanks Ayame!" Naruto said enthusiastically as a bowl of steaming noodles was set in front of him. Ayame smiled charmingly.

"Here you go boys, two BBQ chicken ramen. Enjoy." She said and left to check on the next table.

"Anyways…_I _don't even understand it all the way…it's really confusing. My first impression of you, the day I started here I mean, was that yeah, you were really good looking but…there was something that didn't seem right… Eventually, after you proved over and over that you couldn't stand me, I told myself I didn't care. I figured 'what the hell? Let the bastard take care of his own problems.' Deep down though I knew…I knew I didn't hate you…I couldn't hate you. I could act like it all I wanted but I knew that for some reason, some part of me refused to do it.

I tried to at least make sure you were under the impression that I did but…I guess it never really seemed wrong because of the way you treated me although…I knew somehow that it wasn't the way it should be… At that point I had no idea that it would end up like this… I thought maybe someday we'd be friends at the most.

The possibility of me being in a relationship with you was out of the question. I didn't realize I even cared about you like that in any way shape or form until the other day. The way you looked…so afraid that I'd say no… I couldn't do it. Even though I've been through a lot of shit because of you, I couldn't do it.

But I still had doubts. That's why I told you to kiss me. I figured that would tell me and if it didn't feel right, well, you deserved a good dose of reality. Then…you actually did kiss me and I couldn't think about anything but us…everything else was just blown out of my mind. I knew it was right, even after everything both of us has been through it was right. Like I said…really confusing." Naruto said as he finally looked up at the raven.

He had been tracing the patterns in the fake wood design on the table as he spoke. Sasuke looked contemplative and deep in thought. Naruto decided to leave him be and started on his ramen. It was delicious as usual and Naruto was halfway through the bowl before Sasuke spoke again.

"I think it makes sense… though to be honest I'm very glad you said yes. I don't know what I would have done if I had finally gotten to kiss you only to find out you said no." he muttered. Naruto felt a stab of regret. "I'm sorry…I didn't mean for it to sound like-" but Sasuke cut him off. "It's fine. Don't worry about it. Anyways, let me finish my soup and we'll get out of here… where _are_ we staying tonight anyways?" he asked. Naruto shrugged. "I really don't care." He said. Suddenly his eyes lit up and he reached a hand down into his pocket. "We'll flip a coin." He said. Sasuke raised an eyebrow. "That's a bit…amusing but, whatever." He said. Naruto grinned. "Okay, heads, my house, tails your house." He said. Sasuke smirked as the blonde tossed it in the air and caught it, flipping it onto the back of his hand. "Tails." Naruto announced. Sasuke's smirk widened. "Tails never fails." He said cunningly. Naruto laughed. "Whatever teme." He said as he stood up and reached for his wallet. Sasuke, however, was quicker. He had his money on the table before Naruto even had his counted. "Don't worry about it blondie." He said teasingly. Naruto blushed a bit and thanked the raven.

It was around 9:30 when the boys got back to Sasuke's house and even though it was cold, Naruto couldn't help but stop and look up at the sky. He let out a sigh and followed Sasuke to the front door.

"What is it?" Sasuke asked as he unlocked it.

"When I was in India, I remember laying outside at night, just looking at the stars. I could always see so many of them. My favorite thing in the night sky was always the moon. Even though it's so small compared to Earth, it lights up the nighttime world, it controls the tides and it can even block out the sun. It was amazing that this little thing could affect us so much. I wanted to be like it. I wanted to do something important with my life. My parents were always behind me and when things got tough my mom would remind me 'shoot for the moon, Naruto. Even if you miss you'll land among the stars.' It always made me smile…" he said quietly.

"Your parents sound nice." Sasuke said, taking Naruto's hand and giving it a gentle squeeze.

"They were." He agreed

"Do you mind if I ask what happened?" Sasuke asked cautiously.

"No, it's okay. You told me about your parents. Anway, like I was telling oyu the other day, pretty much everything in India revolves around the caste system. It's like, you know, social classes but you never go up or down. You work inside your caste and you marry inside your caste, end of story. But not for my parents. My mom was visiting India when she met my dad. I guess he owned a store or something…I don't really remember him to be honest. But they fell in love and my mother decided to move there and get married." He told the raven and sat down on the step before continuing.

"Her family was pleased as hell, they loved my dad, but his side of the family, along with the other members of his village, well lets just say there were less than enthusiastic. They saw my mother as some sort of devil, sent to steal my dad away and take him with her to hell. And then there was me…they thought I was some sort of monster, a sick combo of devil spawn and traitorous blood." And Naruto could'nt help but let out a short, derisive laugh. "When I was about six, some older boys ganged up on. They beat the hell out of me…damn near put me in the hospital." He said, motioning to the scars on his face.

"They called me Kyuubi no Kitsune because foxes were thieves and that's what my mom and I were. My dad was furious. He went out and found the kids who did it and got into a fight with their parents. After that, not even his own people would speak to him. A few months later, some bandits were trying to rob his shop and he was killed in the process. My mom and I moved back here a bit after that and then she was hospitalized with some sort of sickness…it's got a really long name…" he admitted sheepishly.

"But after her funeral she was cremated and her ashes sent back to India. It took me a long time to get over it…that's why I started school late." Naruto finally finished and looked at Sasuke, waiting for a reaction. It was obvious that the raven was still soaking in all of the new information.

"So you've been here for a while then." He finally said rather lamely. Naruto nodded. Sasuke looked at him for a second before reaching out and tracing on of the long scars on the blonde's cheek.

"I'm sorry Naruto, no one deserves that…" he said quietly. But Naruto just smiled and shook his head.

"It doesn't matter anymore. It happened in the past, I'd rather just forget about it and move on." He said a little too cheerfully. Sasuke nodded and stood up. Naruto remained sitting for a few moments before following suit. He glanced up at the sky again before turning to the raven.

"Sasuke, what do you think our lives would be like if we hadn't met each other?" he asked. It was true that they had only been together for a few short days but the impact they had on each other went much farther back.

"I don't know." He said. And then in a voice so quiet that Naruto almost didn't hear it he added, "but I think mine would have been cold and lonely." Naruto considered him for a moment and then grinned before hugging him.

"Let's go inside." Sasuke said after a while and Naruto nodded. Things had changed between them again. They had no secrets now.

Well, ta-ta for now! Hope you enjoyed this chapter! ^_^


	9. Chapter 8

Well, here's another chapter. I hope you guys enjoy. Um, Naruto belongs to Masashi Kishimoto and as always, if you like it, feel free to leave a review! ^_^

When Sasuke had finished taking off his shoes he found Naruto standing in the doorway of the living room, evidently trying not to laugh. Itachi was sprawled across the couch on top of another guy who Sasuke identified as Kisame, Itachi's current boyfriend.

"He's so…unintimidating when he's asleep!" Naruto said with an awe-filled voice. Sasuke smirked.

"You find my brother intimidating?" he asked suggestively. Naruto glanced at him and nodded.

"Sometimes." He admitted with a shrug.

The house was almost totally silent; the only noise was a soft murmur from the almost muted TV. Naruto jumped when arms circled firmly around his waist and he heard Sasuke's voice in his ear.

"Do you find _me_ intimidating?" he asked, his warm breath sending shivers down Naruto's spine. Naruto tried his best to shrug and answered 'maybe.' Sasuke smiled into his shoulder.

"I suppose that answer will do for now." He said, finally releasing the blonde. Naruto grinned mischievously and put a finger to his lips as he turned to the two on the couch.

"Naruto, I don't think…" Sasuke said and his voice trailed off as he frowned and looked at the blonde.

There was no stopping him now… Naruto ran towards the couch and leapt into the air with a battle cry. Itachi's eyes sprang open just in time to see Naruto above him before he crashed down. Naruto quickly got up and ran out of the room... of course, being who he was, he stopped to point and laugh at the couple on the couch before running up the stairs and out of sight.

"What the hell was that?" Kisame asked angrily.

"_That_ was Naruto." Sasuke said. Kisame raised an eyebrow.

"_Naruto?_" he asked incredulously. Sasuke nodded but didn't reply as he made his way up the steps.

"Naruto is Sasuke's rather…er, _energetic_ boyfriend." Itachi explained as he stood up and stretched. He was caught off guard as Kisame's hand grabbed his wrist and pulled him back onto the couch.

"So, little Sasuke-chan finally got himself a boyfriend huh?" he asked. Itachi nodded.

"It took him quite a lot longer than I expected, but I suppose I'm glad. If he hadn't waited, he probably wouldn't have found Naruto and things wouldn't have turned out as nicely as they have." He asked.

"Aw, look at you! All cute and concerned for your baby brother." Kisame said. Itachi glared and tried to stand up.

"Oh, come on, I was only joking." Kisame said before pulling the raven's head towards him and capturing his lips with his own. Itachi was the one who broke the kiss and looked thoughtfully at Kisame.

"I suppose you're forgiven." He said with a small smile. Kisame grinned.

"See, me and my utter sexiness are just too hard to resist." He said. Itachi smacked him upside the head. It was times like these when he doubted his own sanity.

MEANWHILE

"Well Naruto, was that really necessary?" Sasuke asked as he entered his room and found Naruto sprawled out on his bed, his head hanging off the side. Naruto grinned and rolled over.

"Of course Sasuke, how else am I supposed to have any fun around here?" he asked. Sasuke rolled his eyes. Naruto yawned and stood up.

"Man, I'm really tired!" he said.

"I expect you would be." Sasuke replied. Naruto blushed.

"I didn't mean that dobe…we just did a lot today, jeez." Sasuke said.

"Oh…yeah, we did didn't we?" Naruto said with a grin and then pouted.

"Aww…but we have school tomorrow! I don't wanna go!" he whined. Sasuke shook his head, a soft smile playing on his lips.

"Hey, speaking of school, if you're staying here, how are you gonna have clothes?" he asked. Naruto grinned.

"Well, when I was packing, I had the sudden urge to pack my school uniform. Weird huh?" he said. Sasuke rolled his eyes.

"Yeah, weird…well, I'm gonna get in the shower, so find something to do." He said. Naruto nodded.

"I'm gonna go change…can I take a shower in the morning?" he asked. Sasuke shook his head, amusement in his eyes.

"No dobe, I'm gonna make you go to school without one." He said. Naruto grinned.

"Well, you never know…I remember this one time I had to get up extra early to go to Granny Tsunade's because my water got shut off 'cause I forgot to pay my utility bill." He said sheepishly.

"You _forgot_ or you _couldn't_?" Sasuke asked.

"Um…somewhere in-between actually. Oh yeah, I have to work tomorrow so-"

"I'll drive you." Sasuke said immediately. Naruto frowned.

"No, it's okay, I can walk." He said. Sasuke's forehead creased.

"It's not that I don't want you around I just…well…"

"What, are you ashamed of where you work?" Sasuke asked.

"Not _really_…" he said.

"Well, what is it that you do exactly?" Sasuke asked.

"Oh, a few different things actually." Naruto said nonchalantly.

"Such as?"

"Things."

"Like?"

"Stuff."

"...Are you avoiding the question?"

"…Maaaybeee."

"…whatever." Sasuke finally gave in and Naruto grinned.

"Owned!" he said. Sasuke raised an eyebrow.

"_owned_?" he asked. Naruto laughed awkwardly.

"Just something I picked up from Lee…you know, it's an American thing." He said. Sasuke nodded.

"That would explain it(1).Anyways, are you sure you don't want a ride tomorrow?" He asked.

"yeah I'm sure…thanks for the offer though." He said. Sasuke nodded and left the room. Naruto smiled after him and pulled out a pair of pajama bottoms with little frogs on them.

Sasuke turned the water on and let it warm up before taking off his clothes and getting in. He sighed and slid down the side of wall. He curled his knees up to his chest and let the water beat down on him. He closed his eyes and let his mind wander to the blonde in his room. He was so…amazing and…and he was all his. Naruto had given him every bit of himself. His thoughts, his attention, his love…his body and Sasuke had taken all of it. He had taken all of it without a single thought. But now all the things he should have thought about…should have said, rushed to his mind.

"Naruto I'm glad you came…really."

"Naruto are you sure you want to do this?"

"Thank you…"

He felt something warm slide down his cheek to his lip. He thought it was water from the shower so he stuck his tongue out but was surprised. It tasted…salty. He reached up and felt his eyes. He was crying again…did it mean he was weak? He had grown up hearing that from his father. Boys, especially Uchiha boys, didn't cry. But he could practically hear Naruto's voice in his head. 'I don't think crying is weak. You have to care about something a lot to cry about it', he'd probably say.

"Hey Sasuke, you okay?" Naruto's voice called breaking him out of his thoughts.

"Yeah…I'll be out in a few minutes." He replied.

"Okay…just don't drown or anything." Naruto said.

"Yeah, yeah." Sasuke said and stood up.

He washed off and washed his hair before getting out and wrapping a towel around his waist. He walked into his bedroom and found Naruto sitting on his bed. He grabbed a pair of boxers and slid them on under the towel before letting it slip to the floor. Naruto grinned. "Well those are nice." He said. Sasuke rolled his eyes and looked down to see what exactly Naruto thought was so funny. 'Oh…of course.' He thought bitterly. The boxers he currently had on were black with red X's and pink O's. The one time he wasn't paying attention…

"Can I ask where exactly you got those?" Naruto asked suppressing a snicker.

"It's well…it was Kisame's idea of a joke to my brother…they must have ended up in my laundry." Sasuke admitted. Naruto stood up and walked to the door but stopped. Sasuke saw a shiver pass through him.

"What, are you okay?" he asked.

"Well…I don't think that I'll be going downstairs just yet." He said. Sasuke felt his eye twitch.

"Is he…are they…?" he asked. Naruto nodded.

Sasuke rolled his eyes and turned around. He heard Naruto's feet on the floor and the next thing he knew he was face down on the bed with Naruto on top of him. He managed to roll over and Naruto looked down at him, his signature grin on his face. He leaned down and placed a kiss on Sasuke's lips. It was meant to be a quick one but before he could pull away, Sasuke's arms were draped over his neck. Naruto gasped at the unexpected contact and Sasuke's tongue found its way into his mouth. When Sasuke finally let him go, he pouted. Sasuke shrugged.

"Sorry, I couldn't resist." He said. Naruto flicked his forehead and muttered 'teme.'

"Dobe."

"Teme"

"Dobe."

"Teme!"

"…whatever…" Naruto grinned.

"I win again." He said.

"Okay, so that brings the score to, you, two and me, a lot more." Sasuke said. Naruto pouted.

"You're such a fun sucker." He said.

"Of course Naruto, how else am I supposed to have any fun around here?" Sasuke said with a smirk. Naruto rolled his eyes.

"Yeah, well I hope you're planning on giving some of that fun back." He said sarcastically. Sasuke quickly rolled over causing Naruto to be thrown onto the floor.

"And if I'm not?" He asked with a smirk. Naruto glared at him and Sasuke glared back. Suddenly Naruto burst out laughing and Sasuke raised an eyebrow.

"What's so funny?" he asked.

"It's just like old times." He said with a goofy grin.

Sasuke rolled his eyes. "Not too much like old times." He said.

Naruto laughed and nodded. "Well, I'm going to bed…Night Sasuke." He said and stood up.

"Goodnight dobe." He said with a smirk. Naruto stuck his tongue out at him and moved to the door.

"Oh, I don't think that clock is set so I'll wake you up in the morning." Sasuke said. Naruto nodded and mockingly blew Sasuke a kiss. Sasuke just rolled his eyes and flipped him off.

"Love you too, teme." Naruto called as he walked down the hallway laughing

(1) I love America, go America!!!!!!

Thanks for reading, the next chapter should be ready soon! Please review!!


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